I'm from Pittsburgh, too. Not only do I find the term "rust belt" perfectly acceptable, I find your scolding strangers on the internet about its use to be pomp

I'm from Pittsburgh, too. Not only do I find the term "rust belt" perfectly acceptable, I find your scolding strangers on the internet about its use to be pompously absurd. You are not "our" spokesman invested with some kind of moral authority to publicly sermonize about "our" identity. Please refrain from doing so on "our" behalf, and speak only for yourself.